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The most musical Naim preamp is……..

T

tenpercenter

Don't ya rile 'em.....
Yesterday had a bit of fun with a couple of equally nerdy mates and we compared the sound of 3 different Naim preamps:

Nac82 - Pots 8 with Napsc (Class A serviced 2 years ago
Nac282 - with Napsc (10 years old, no service)
Nac42.5 - Naim serviced 6 months ago

Rest of the gear was Naim CDS3 / Nap250+ Hicap with Naim SL2 speakers

Listened to a wide range of stuff (prog / blues / jazz / rock etc)

The outcome was unexpected ! The 3 preamps made the system sound very different. The Nac82 sounded slightly brighter than the other two but at the same time rocked especially hard!

The Nac282 had a more mellow tonality, still
timed well and had a laid back grooviness to it. Very well liked !

The Nac42.5 was, well to put it simply just enormous fun with a capital F. It was tonally well balanced, but just timed so beautifully. It wasn’t as detailed and mature sounding as the Nac282 (the best preamp we heard) but honestly the humble Nac42.5 does the music thing so well, it surprised all 3 of us.

We then played some records through a mid ‘80s spec LP12 and we actually preferred the Nac42.5, it just seemed to gel better than the other two. These preamps seem to go for beer money these days and seem incredible value tbh.

Anyway I could go on, but it was just a bit of fun followed by a delicious curry. BTW no subjectivists were harmed during this listening session……or during the eating of a tasty Lamb Madras
 
Naim works very well. Simple preamps like nac 42.5,62,32.5, 72 are still musically very interesting, as with the Nait 1, Nait2, Nait 50. Modern preamp circuits, with all the components required for control logistics, make electronics and ground points more complex. This can be felt in the music.
 
I really liked my 32 over my 82. I may be in the minority though. I also have a 62 which I find similar in sound to the 32. Have you tried the 82 with dual hicaps ?
 
My favorite preamps in order are the 72, 32.5 and 42.5 fed by a Hicap.

That said though, I now feed my Avondaled NAP 110 with a Classe Audio CP 35 preamp from the 90's and it beats them all by quite a margin while keeping the PRaT or "get up and go" Naim is known for.
 
I used a 42.5/ Supercap for several weeks into a DBL Sixpack and it sounded excellent, but obviously rolled off at the frequency extremes compared to the 52.

I also tried a SNAPS and Hicap with the 42.5/ DBLs but these were a giant step backwards from the Supercap, sounding nasal, boxy and very compressed. At least into active DBLs.

Out of all the Naim preamp I have used all the way from a 12 to the 552, the 12 was by far the best value. The 52 was so much better than the 82/Supercap for not that much extra.
Like the 42.5, the 102 only shone brightly when used with a SC.
And the 112 was so bad, not even a Supercap could make it sound decent.
The 552 clearly was better than the 52, but every time I pulled out the 552 and put the 52 back in ( I owned both for several months) I was in no hurry to put the 552 back in, as the 52 was equally as enjoyable, but just not as totally rich and nuanced as the 552.

I think I could live long term with a 12/160 and call it a day.
 
rontoolsie said:
I used a 42.5/ Supercap for several weeks into a DBL Sixpack and it sounded excellent, but obviously rolled off at the frequency extremes compared to the 52.

I also tried a SNAPS and Hicap with the 42.5/ DBLs but these were a giant step backwards from the Supercap, sounding nasal, boxy and very compressed. At least into active DBLs.

Out of all the Naim preamp I have used all the way from a 12 to the 552, the 12 was by far the best value. The 52 was so much better than the 82/Supercap for not that much extra.
Like the 42.5, the 102 only shone brightly when used with a SC.
And the 112 was so bad, not even a Supercap could make it sound decent.
The 552 clearly was better than the 52, but every time I pulled out the 552 and put the 52 back in ( I owned both for several months) I was in no hurry to put the 552 back in, as the 52 was equally as enjoyable, but just not as totally rich and nuanced as the 552.

I think I could live long term with a 12/160 and call it a day.
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I must agree that if you don’t look at the specs, you don’t need a remote and you just want to enjoy your music, the 12/160 is sooooooo sweet !
 
I am not at all surprised by this. I don't want to be too harsh but I had never been really happy with the 82, whether with the hicap(s) or even a supercap. It was really "neither here nor there". The 52 was so much better and in many ways, so was the 72. The 72 was obviously rolled off at the frequency extremes (kinda fuzzy sounding) but conveyed music well whereas what you got with the 82 was more 'hifi'.

If I were putting together a more budget constrained Naim olive system today, it would be a 72/Hicap/250. I am extremely curious though about what a supercapped 72 would do.
 
I use a 72 with a Supercap DR. This may seem disproportionate to some. With Scap, the 72 offers a wider listening range. The 2 controls become quieter in the Scap's big box.
 
hockman said:
I am not at all surprised by this. I don't want to be too harsh but I had never been really happy with the 82, whether with the hicap(s) or even a supercap. It was really "neither here nor there". The 52 was so much better and in many ways, so was the 72. The 72 was obviously rolled off at the frequency extremes (kinda fuzzy sounding) but conveyed music well whereas what you got with the 82 was more 'hifi'.

If I were putting together a more budget constrained Naim olive system today, it would be a 72/Hicap/250. I am extremely curious though about what a supercapped 72 would do.
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I always felt that the 82 was in no-mans land.... closer in performance to the much cheaper 102, and way behind the not-so-much-more-expensive 52 (if the 82 was used with a SC that is).
I remember being told by Naim USA at the time that they (the distributor) made only around $100 extra if the dealer sold a 52 vs an 82.
For the same money as the 82/Hicap cost, you could get a 42.5/62/72 with a Supercap, although these have fewer inputs, no remote control and no ability to listen to one source and record from another (did ANYBODY actually use this??)

The 32/72 preamps could also be improved with NJ or RSL boards taking them to even higher levels. Not so much the 82.
 
IWC Doppel said:
I love the 32.5 fed by a SuperCap, a big upgrade from the Hicap
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Another very handy boost for the 32.5/Supercap after the RSL boards (sadly, no longer available) is an improved Snaic5. I have listened at least 4 different ones, and the only ones worse than the Naim ones were the Flashback ones (sadly, no longer available). The Chord Signature Snaics was way ahead of the Naim Snaics, while the WitchHat ones (sadly, no longer available) were somewhere inbetween.

I am sure that the Chord Sarum or Music Snaics would be even greater improvements, but they probably would end up costing what a used 52 would.

I have never tried out a Teddy Snaic or Sean Jacob Snaic, so I cannot comment one way or the other.
 
rontoolsie said:
Another very handy boost for the 32.5/Supercap after the RSL boards (sadly, no longer available) is an improved Snaic5. I have listened at least 4 different ones, and the only ones worse than the Naim ones were the Flashback ones (sadly, no longer available). The Chord Signature Snaics was way ahead of the Naim Snaics, while the WitchHat ones (sadly, no longer available) were somewhere inbetween.

I am sure that the Chord Sarum or Music Snaics would be even greater improvements, but they probably would end up costing what a used 52 would.

I have never tried out a Teddy Snaic or Sean Jacob Snaic, so I cannot comment one way or the other.
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I used the two connection cabling solution to keep the power separate from signal and ended up with a sharkwire based solution, more recently twisted Duelund AG16, I also run thick 6mm^2 signal ground connections back to the pre from each unit
 
IWC Doppel said:
I used the two connection cabling solution to keep the power separate from signal and ended up with a sharkwire based solution, more recently twisted Duelund AG16, I also run they thick 6mm^2 signal ground connections back to the pre from each unit
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The weak link in the conventional Snaic is that it uses (I think) the braid as the ground wire. Its pretty chunky, but not chunky enough that its non-neglibible DCR does not introduce a potential difference between the grounds. What you have done is apparently drop this DCR by an order of magnitude.
 
Milspec1 said:
I really liked my 32 over my 82. I may be in the minority though. I also have a 62 which I find similar in sound to the 32. Have you tried the 82 with dual hicaps ?
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...adding a second Hi Cap allows the 82 to play deeper notes. That's all i noticed at the time - but in those days nothinq was serviced and the installation was less than perfect. Moving on, i've separated all the boxes so all those with big transformers are well away from pre-amps and sources. It's not so easy to do this with a pair of Hi Caps instead of a Supercap. I find it makes a big improvement to SQ. Currently my system is 82/Supercap/110, Linn Tukans and Naim CD3. The 110 was a choice because of space constraints. The sound is everthing you'd expect from vintage Naim stuff equipment - full of drive, dynamics and excitement - but it's also very lyrical.
 
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